Premier Rock Forum

tallchris wrote: Sun Jul 25, 2021 1:41 pm

losthighway wrote: Sun Jul 25, 2021 1:25 pm

tallchris wrote: Sun Jul 25, 2021 1:03 pm

Bringing this back up, finally got a chance to use this at practice and we had to grab a clean boost pedal to get more volume out of it and closer to line level. Can I just do that for show--add a clean boost (Micro Amp or something else) and then that goes into the DI? Or is there a better pedal solution to bring instrument level signal to line level signal?

In my experience a DI is a way to avoid needing a line level signal via xlr. It hits the mixer with the impedance of a microphone and the preamp gain on the mixer should be enough.

But if you're running it into a guitar amp that's a horse of a different color.

Huh, we definitely weren't getting line level when running into a DI and into the PA at practice, and could barely get enough volume that it was audible over the band. We when ran the output into a clean boost and then into the DI, it was all good and didn't seem to add a bunch of extra noise.

Yeah it wouldn't be line level, it'd be mic level which is definitely quieter. There's the details of keyboard model, which output, what type of cable into what jack on what kind of DI box, but then again 'if it ain't broke....' I don't see any problem with a boost before the DI box, especially if it's sounding good to you guys in the room. It's not typically necessary but every setup is different. You might find at a gig it's obsolete with a different mixer/DI but I'm sure the grumpy sounding will keep you posted.

Yeah, it's going to work a lot better to use a DI to Mic Level and use the mic pre at the console or PA to bring it to Line level. There is a radial box that takes instrument level to line level, but I don't really understand why it exists. If you really want line level, I suggest hitting a DI and then taking that into a small cheap mic pre like a MAudio Audio buddy or something like that. Or, just hitting any mic pre with an instrument level input.

Here you go. This can do it twice for $30

https://www.ebay.com/itm/265238383089?h ... Sw1ZFg-KxS

losthighway wrote: Sat Jul 24, 2021 7:36 am

thelastrewind wrote: Sat Jul 24, 2021 7:09 am Recording tips for recording baritone acoustics. I know I need to learn to play a little differently, but I'm sounding a bit flabby on the low end, mushy and bassy. Any tips?

Experiment with mic placement and mic choice, a lot. One position that seems to tame boom and mush is to have the mic a little higher than the strings and then looking down at them. Somewhere around the neck joint/12th fret is usually a good starting place for the horizontal axis

This!! And if you are using a large diaphragm condenser the back it off at least two feet

thelastrewind wrote: Sat Jul 24, 2021 7:09 am Recording tips for recording baritone acoustics. I know I need to learn to play a little differently, but I'm sounding a bit flabby on the low end, mushy and bassy. Any tips?

I am obviously far from an expert, but when I record cello I blend in a contact mic for clarity. I don't have a fancy one, but even with a cheap one it gives some focus.

Why do people put Bigsbys on Jazzmasters?

New (to me) guitar arrives with 10s.

Take strings off and leave off for 2 or 3 days while I monkey with other modifications.

String guitar with 11s.

Neck relief is all to shit! Totally flat with no bow in it at all even with heavier strings. All buzzy near the nut.

Why?

How long have you waited since restringing?

Humidity?
It has been super muggy here. All my stuff was acting crazy this summer. Drifting out of tune, fret buzz. Couldn't play my Wurlitzer as all of the keys had swelled and were sticking. Bought a dehumidifier and everything is stable now.

Nate Dort wrote: Tue Jul 27, 2021 7:55 am How long have you waited since restringing?

Humidity?
It has been super muggy here. All my stuff was acting crazy this summer. Drifting out of tune, fret buzz. Couldn't play my Wurlitzer as all of the keys had swelled and were sticking. Bought a dehumidifier and everything is stable now.

Yeah, it has been hot and wet here. Didn't expect such a big movement in 3 days. Bummer. I hate adjusting truss rods.

WeStartToDrift wrote: Mon Jul 26, 2021 2:02 pm Why do people put Bigsbys on Jazzmasters?

I feel like this is more of a WTF statement than a question, but I'll attempt to answer.
I think it comes from the trend a while back to use tune-o-matic and stop tailpieces on offset style guitars. A certain type of player really liked that setup.
Now, once you have any guitar with a stop tailpiece, putting a Vibramate kit on it to add a Bigsby is pretty much a piece of cake.
Then Fender released a series of JMs with Bigsbys screwed in. And people bought them! I think a lot of offset fans want to collect a lot of variations.

When it comes to off brands, for a long time a generic Bigsby was easier to find than a generic Jag/Jazz vibrato. So when a cheapo company was trying to recreate the feel of an offset guitar, they just clamped on a no name bigsby vibrato because it was the cheapest vibrato option.

that's my $0.02

Adam_I_III wrote: Tue Jul 27, 2021 9:14 am Yeah, it has been hot and wet here. Didn't expect such a big movement in 3 days. Bummer. I hate adjusting truss rods.

I avoided it like the plague until I had a luthier out of commission with an illness and an extra 30 minutes in the jam space. It's really not so bad. I always have to check the online pictures to remember which direction does what, but they're totally helpful. Making small moves and then playing a while got me somewhere I'd call better in a relatively low-stress way.

My pickup install might be a different journey.